When someone mentions they are building a straw bale house, one might picture the straw house from the three little pigs? story. Not so. This house can’t be blown down.
Straw bale homes are composed of a thatched roof, straw bale walls covered with earthen plaster and use a fieldstone foundation. They are solid walls that are made to withstand wind, rain and heat.
Deanne Bednar, of Addison Township, along with friend Fran Lee, decided to learn about building a straw bale house on Bednar’s, formerly Lee’s, property off of Noble Rd.
Bednar, a retired West Bloomfield art teacher, decided to take a straw bale workshop in the San Juan Islands, north of Washington in 1996 to learn all she could about this ‘ecological art.?
‘It gave me the confidence I needed,? she said.
From there, Bednar and Lee began designing a 600 square-foot straw bale studio.
Along with co-designers Carolyn Koch, of Rochester Hills and Gregie Matthews, of Arizona, Bednar collected over 1,200 bundles of reed, DNR approved of course, from a marsh in St. Clair County to complete the thatched roof and also salvaged Norway Spruce logs for the frame.
An experienced thatcher from Denmark helped them start the roof and various members of the community chipped in to help the building process.
With the advent of the bailing machine in the 1890s, straw bales began being used as a main building material. Straw bale is popular in states like Nebraska and Alabama, and countries like Poland and Norway.
About 176 bales of straw were used from a farm in Lapeer to build her home.
The straw bale studio, which is set between existing trees so as not to disturb nature, is an irregular curving shape with various peaks to the roof.
There is no plumbing, however solar pannels and a wood-burning stove provide heat to the studio. Electricity is also solar powered and produced for DC lighting and AC outlets by photovoltaic panels and batteries donated by Detroit Edison.
Bednar said building biodegradable homes is becoming more popular nowadays.
‘Quite a few younger people are saying ‘I just want to live a more natural life and be closer to the earth,? she said.
Adding a personal touch to the studio, Bednar had a beautiful stained-glass window from her hometown church in Archbold, Ohio added onto the building. Inside features a living space, dining area, soon to be pottery studio and a three-dimensional tree sculptured on the wall.
Just last week, Catherine Wanek, editor of The Last Straw journal, photographed her straw bale studio for her new book on straw bale design essentials.
Although some have called Bednar ‘Martha Stewart gone too far,? she has no regrets about her project and urges people interested in building their own eco-friendly home to learn as much as they can from workshops or websites like www.strawbalecentral.com.
She also said to start small and work your way up.
‘It doesn’t take much,? she said.